LONDON -- Jurgen Klopp was not a happy man after Liverpool drew 2-2 at Premier League new boys Fulham on the opening weekend of the season.
[ MORE: Analysis from Liverpool’s draw at Fulham ]
Klopp cut a frustrated figure throughout the game as Liverpool couldn’t live with Fulham’s intensity and the Reds boss admitted he was very angry with the way his team started the game.
Buoyed by the boisterous home fans down by the banks of the River Thames, Fulham were feverish and Liverpool lackluster.
Fulham took the lead twice but Liverpool, inspired by second half substitute Darwin Nunez, struck back twice to rescue point.
Speaking to reporters in the tiny press room at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, Klopp was far from pleased with what he saw.
Klopp fumes at Liverpool performance
“The result wasn’t a defeat but the performance was a defeat,” Klopp fumed.
“We started exactly the opposite way that we wanted,” Klopp explained. “It was as if we are used to more dominance and we could never get that because we didn’t play good enough, quick enough, precise enough, all of these kind of things... The best news about this game is the result. I am really fine with the point. I know we could have won the game but that would have been too much. I am happy for the punishment we got.”
Asked how frustrated he was with the display, Klopp didn’t tone things down.
“Do you want to know the scale out of 10? 12. Very [frustrated],” Klopp said. “We don’t want to take anything away from Fulham. They did really well. But to be 100 percent honest, in moments when we weren’t even close to where we can be, we could have scored. We played a really bad game. Playing the way we did today is not the way we should play. That is why my frustration about that is pretty high.”
Sloppy display lacked intensity
This was one of the most un-Liverpool displays you will see.
Klopp’s side couldn’t match Fulham’s intensity, they were caught on the ball, sloppy in possession and there was no sharpness to their game.
That happens early in a season. But rarely ever to Liverpool.
Klopp knows how small the margins are for success this season and he will be frustrated that the intensity and focus wasn’t there from his players and that cost them two points. How often can he say intensity has been lacking since he’s been in charge?
The performance levels can ebb and flow but the effort and intensity has always been there from this Liverpool team.
It wasn’t there at Fulham.
That is why he was so disappointed.
